Jewish Pasts, German Fictions by Skolnik Jonathan;

Author:Skolnik, Jonathan; [Skolnik, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2014-03-07T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 14. Else Lasker-Schüler, illustration to Der Wunderrabbiner von Barcelona (Berlin: Paul Cassirer, 1921).

Lasker-Schüler’s text picks up on this notion of Judaism as an egalitarian spiritual aristocracy with a universal mission. The narrator’s appellation for the Jews of Barcelona—“Edeljuden” (495, translated by Robertson as “Jewish nobility”; 226)—might be understood in this context. Most importantly, the holy text which Eleazar consults, the (fictional) “atlas of creation” [Atlas der Schöpfung (502, 230)], confirms the conventional nineteenth-century German-Jewish integrationist conception of Judaism.

Eleazar reads from the Atlas der Schöpfung at a crucial moment in the narrative. The butchery of Barcelona’s Jews is underway, but the miracle rabbi, secure in his palace, hears false rumors that his followers have boarded ships and anxiously await their departure for the Holy Land. The historical and messianic significance of such an event is alluded to as it coincides with the approaching Passover holiday:

Aber die Abendwinde, die süßen Lügnerinnen, die um des großen Wunderrabbiners Palast sangen, brachten träumerisch falsche Märchen. “An den Hecken sitzen arglos deine Söhne, Eleasar, und zählen die Tage und die Stunden, die sie von Palästina trennen, und mit Seide und Perlen sticken die feinen Töchter Davids Kissen für deine segnenden Hände, Eleasar. Bald naht das Osterfest, und die Bäcker backen fromme ungesäuerte Brote für deinen Tisch, großer Wunderrabbiner.” (501–2)

[But the evening breezes, the sweet liars who sang outside the palace of the great wonder-working rabbi, told tales that were dreamlike and false. “Your sons are sitting by the hedges, Eleazar, suspecting nothing, counting the days and the hours that separate them from Palestine, and the delicate daughters of David are embroidering cushions with silk and pearls for the blessings of your hands. The feast of Passover is approaching, and the bakers are baking pious unleavened bread for your table, great wonder-working rabbi.” (230)]

Lasker-Schüler’s narrator makes note of the gendered division of Barcelona’s Jewish customs, which were also remarked as Pablo observed the prayer service: “Die Frauen hinter den Gittern bebten leise” (498) [“The women behind the railings quaked gently” (228)]. But Eleazar’s attention is centered on the theological meaning of the cataclysmic events of the moment. The “atlas of creation” is, of course, where the wonder-working rabbi turns for guidance regarding scripture’s implications for geopolitical action in a time of crisis.

The language of the Atlas der Schöpfung—at once vibrant, rarified, and giddy—mocks that of a religious text, but also offers a sincere vision of a utopian map where the peoples of the world all have a secure place in the divine plan:

Der blätterte im Atlas der Schöpfung und las, wie in der Anfänglichkeit der Vater aus Erde und Wasser die Welt seinen “Hochzeitsmannakuchen”, ballte, mit allen goldenen Zutaten seines himmlichen Blutes und den Menschen, der großen Weltenform entnahm und aus ihm wieder mächtig holte die Völker und Völkervölker und Völkervölkervölker und lud sie ein zum gemeinsamen Mahle. (502)

[He leafed through the atlas of creation and read how at the beginning of things the Father made the world of earth and water and squeezed it into

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